Two UNIFIL members were injured in an Israeli attack on its headquarters in Lebanon

The U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Israeli tank fire at its headquarters in the south of the country injured two of its members on Thursday and accused Israel of “repeatedly” attacking their positions.

It is the most serious incident the mission has reported since it said last week it had rejected Israeli demands to “relocate” some of its positions.

UNIFIL, which has around 10,000 peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon, has called for a ceasefire since the escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon on September 23 after nearly a year of cross-border fire.

“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon at a lookout tower at the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, hitting it directly and causing them to fall,” the force said, using an acronym for the Israeli one Military.

The two peacekeepers did not suffer serious injuries, “but they remain in hospital,” it said.

A UNIFIL spokeswoman said they were Indonesians.

According to UNIFIL, the Israeli military also attacked another position in Ras Naqoura, further south, on Thursday.

The peacekeeper said it “hit the entrance to the bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering and damaged vehicles and a communications system.”

“An IDF drone was observed flying within the UN position up to the bunker entrance,” it said.

“UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions were repeatedly attacked,” the force said.

On Wednesday, “IDF soldiers intentionally shot at and deactivated the position’s surveillance cameras,” it said.

“They also deliberately fired fire at (a site) where regular trilateral meetings were held before the conflict began, damaging lighting and a relay station.”

“We remind the IDF and all actors of their obligation to ensure the security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” it said.

Ambassador summoned

The defense minister of Italy, which along with Indonesia is one of UNIFIL’s largest troop contributors, summoned the Israeli ambassador on Thursday after the peacekeepers were wounded, a government source said AFP.

UNIFIL said last week that the Israeli military had asked peacekeepers to “relocate” some positions before beginning their ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

The peacekeeping mission rejected the demand, which Irish President Michael Higgins called “an insult to the most important global institution.”

Ireland has about 370 soldiers in the mission.

On Sunday, UNIFIL warned that Israeli operations near one of its positions southeast of Maroun al-Ras were “extremely dangerous” and threatened the safety of blue helmets.

Maroun al-Ras is located about 27 kilometers east of Naqoura.

According to official figures, Israel has attacked Hezbollah positions in Lebanon in the last two weeks, killing more than 1,200 people and forcing more than 1.2 million people from their homes.

It claims it is conducting “limited” incursions across its northern border to dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure, which in turn said it has fired on Israeli soldiers trying to advance in the area.

Earlier on Thursday, Hezbollah said it had destroyed an Israeli tank advancing toward Ras al-Naqoura and that it had fired rockets at Israeli troops who then tried to recover their wounded.

The Iran-backed group also said it fired rockets at Israeli troops in another Lebanese border area called Mais al-Jabal.

It said it fired rockets at several areas in northern Israel, including an area north of the city of Haifa.

UNIFIL was founded in 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces following their invasion of Lebanon.

It was strengthened in Security Council Resolution 1701 after Hezbollah and Israel fought a war in 2006, and its peacekeepers are tasked with monitoring the ceasefire between the two sides.